Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Anonymous Note from Campbell River Trail

Here is an anonymous note. 

Who do you think is the author?

Male or Female
Approximate Age
Education Level
Personality Traits

Does subject pose threat?

Post your findings in the comments section. 






Notes that appear to be from a secret admirer and posted along a Campbell River trail have prompted B.C. RCMP to issue a warning.
Posted to imgur two weeks ago, the notes seem to be written by a man who is infatuated with a woman he sees walking her dogs along the Beaver Lodge trails.
"I see you nearly every lunch hour of mine in here," says one long, typewritten note. "Everytime [sic] that I see you coming, I want to approach you."
The author writes about being shy and watching the woman from afar, though he almost came close to saying hello one day: "I was too close and you could smell my cologne. I was close enough to hear you ask your friend if she smelt cologne, and I watched you stop and smell the air."
Campbell River RCMP was alerted to the notes earlier this month, according to a press release.
Police found the woman involved and spoke to her, but they're still looking for thenote writer, reported The Courier-Islander.
RCMP Sgt. Troy Beauregard told CBC that while the notes were not threatening, the wording was causing concern.
“We just want people to be vigilant on the trails," he said. "Beware of your personal safety.”
The author also noted: "You seem to realize when you're being watched, but perhaps your very large, aggressive looking dogs, plus the bear spray and the concealed knife Iknow that you carry, give you a sense of security."

110 comments:

Maggie said...

Male
Early 40's
Some college/Never graduated
Personality: Introverted, obssessive, poor social skills, stalker but posing no physical threat, very scared of interacting with women, the note was a pathetic and very creepy attempt but probably he is too inhibited to approach her and speak to her--he is projecting his own fear of interacting with women onto her by imagining how scary her dogs are and that she carries a knife and bear spray.
This is my best guess!

VLW said...

I think if I were this woman I'd find a new place to walk my dogs!

Anonymous said...

ya, find a new trail pronto. leats until note writer is caught.

not a lot of guys hang in woods wearng heavy cologne.

MY GUESS --- 19/20 yr old kid. may genuinely be shy. that's why I think young. also latino is a guess cause all the guys i've ever known who wore heavy cologne were young latino guys. tho that's hardly a scientific study on my part.

I think he's highschool or college age but not in college.

Anonymous said...

ooops -- I didn't read very close. I tale ib back about young latino guy. i got too caught up in cologne associations.

it's somebody who calls girls "young lady". so likely he's older than she is, enough to refer to her this way - maybe ten yrs at least, give or take.

somebody who has no shame in wearing cologne you can smell from distance -- so a guy who dresses like that smells -- whatever that means but it means something.

a guy with a "lunch hour" in the area. that really should narrow down to a certain group of men. either he works at a business that is very close or he's a driver/ delivery guy or something - -and he stops by the woods for his lunch.
he knows how to recognize types of knives, bear spray & dogs.

he is CREEEPPPYYYYYYYYYY

CG said...

Wow, I see something very different than you guys or sense it, whatever. This guy had the perfect opportunity if he wanted to say hi but he doesn't want to interact with her, he wants to be hidden. He feels like he is almost caught when she alerts to his presence... his words. They imply he is doing something wrong.

His presence made the dog's hair stand up. That indicates threat. Dogs do not alert like that to strangers who are friendly.

Listing the dogs and the cologne incident, etc., is a power play. I know a lot about you...

The talk about him knowing (italics!) that she has a knife and bear spray to make her feel safe is almost mocking. They give her a sense of security he says implying that the sensation is an illusion. The denial about creepy and threatening is practically an advertisement that she is being threatened, he is in control.

The false compliment about her being smart enough to know he's not a threat has no substance. It's based on her reacting as if he were a threat. It is false flattery aimed at disarming her.

I say this is a young man in the early stages of becoming a killer.

Anonymous said...

My thoughts:

Male - A woman would more likely refer to perfume instead of cologne. I see him as 40-55 years old (girl, young lady) and has likely spent some time in the UK. (Did he flee a crime there?)

Cease
Smelt
Afar
Thought better of it

Not unheard of language here, to be sure, but not the casual words we're used to: stopped, smelled, further away, changed my mind.

He considers himself refined, but might be a facade, given some basic mistakes:

I know that your dog seen me
Noone

A hunter, perhaps a participant in fox hunting. He DOES pose a threat, as he is watching her like prey. He mentions repeatedly seeing her coming, seeing her in the woods, how she has sharp senses and knows she's being watched.

He has some knowledge of dogs and uses language of a hunter.

Pitbull terrier (not just a "pitbull")
Brindle
Mongrel
Tiny fox - easily overtaken?
Lifted your face and scented the air
Sharp senses

He mentions the dogs a lot, so they are prominent in his mind. He wishes she would come without them, as he states that they are big and he undoubtedly fears them. He knows she has a knife (how?) and bear spray and points out that they give her a (false) sense of security. It is only the dogs he fears. What does he want? He only states he's watching her and essentially tells her that she only has a sense of security.

Lemon said...

Male: Use of 'young lady' 'cologne' 'business'

40-55 : Use of 'young lady' 'cologne' 'lunch hour of mine' 'mongrel' 'bolt' 'impressed'

College : Use of 'cease' 'as of yet familiar' 'Perhaps' 'Instead' 'find myself' 'thought better of it' 'afar' 'scented (sic)' 'thankfully' 'aggressive' 'sense of security' 'concealed' 'courageous'
Also sentence structure, spelling

Narcissistic, introverted

The subject does not pose a threat: High use of 'I/me' - 25 and 'you' - 24
[and an absence of the use of 'we']

Maggie said...

He's not a threat.
He is a type of stalker who really does not want much contact with the woman he is stalking.
He wants some contact, but very distant contact, which is why he left the note.
I dont think he wants to harm her. I think part of him wants to approach her and talk to her but a greater part of him is afraid and his fixation on her dogs, etc basically this mind's way of making excuses of why he cant talk to her. The behavior is very abnormal, but basically approaching her would ruin his stalker "fantasy".

Anonymous said...

I would guess a male in his 40's or 50's because he calls her young lady. He mentions his lunch hour so he probably has a job in the area.

He's the one who included the word "creepy" in the letter. I think he could very well be a threat.

He says she looked like a little fox. Like she is prey. He knows she carries a small knife and bear spray that give her a "sense of security". He seems to be saying it gives her a sense of security buy not real security?

In my opinion the dogs hair stood up for a reason.

seanacyblue said...

I am going to say he is
male
30s
some college

Personality: Awkward, poor social skills,loner, hunter, thinks he is the smartest guy in the room, he is a laborer.

He also changed from spelling everytime to every time. Not sure what that means, okay I don't have a clue what that means.

I think he is the hunter and she is the prey. I would be very afraid for her.

He references her scenting the air like a tiny fox. That is why I say laborer, fox hunting is usually a sport for the wealthy and I think he has watched and listened to the wealthy and is trying to impress.

I also feel like he is letting her know that he is aware that she is looking out for her safety, by referencing the bear spray and knife. He is letting her know that he is smarter or a better hunter than she is.

I also feel like he is letting her know he has control and as someone else said has disarmed her by telling her that he is aware that she carries these items.

I think he sees the dogs as threats to him and his safety. Most hunters don't wear cologne in the woods but I have heard and unfortunately seen where they put it on instead of showering.

I think the cologne is his way to impress her, that he wants to be viewed as one of the wealthy people he wishes to emulate.

I think he is extremely dangerous and if he hasn't done anything yet he will in the future.

~mj said...

@ CG - I noticed the strong control indicators too. He states at the beginning so matter-of-factly to cease reading if you were not the woman he was referring to and he expected that his command would be followed. He does it again at the end when he states that it is no one else's business. He states it as fact and does not attempt to persuade or convince anyone on these two points, they are reality to him and he is in control enough to himself to make them so.

Anonymous said...

He certainly makes MY hair stand up! His words and the very fact that he left them for her show that he wants to escalate her fear and take the watching game to a new level. I believe she is in danger and should be wary even in her home.

Deejay said...

male, late 40s, introverted, awkward, uneducated, from 'backwards' area, idolizes both violence and romance.

I believe he is obsessed, creepy, and dangerous. He chooses threatening, stalking words. He wore the cologne on purpose. It is part of his game, to hide yet be discernible. I think she should stay away.

Anonymous said...

How about a jealous female friend with pathological tendencies? Something about this just screams woman to me. "that I know you carry". Girl.

Skeptical said...

He sounds like he is just beginning his stalking career, but if he is like most stalkers, he will intensify. This woman should be very afraid. He already knows a lot about her. Has he followed her home or does he know where she lives?

Skeptical said...

I recently saw this article from the Wall Street Journal on conversational starters and qualifiers that can indicate insincerity that I thought the readers of this blog might find interesting.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303802904579332751950927282?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_Lifestyle_5&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303802904579332751950927282.html%3Fmod%3DWSJ_LifeStyle_Lifestyle_5

Anonymous said...

To the other comments, I'd like to add a couple of thoughts.

First, is there any distinction drawn between the use of my and mine? Perhaps it's just awkward wording, but every lunch hour of mine doesn't sit well with me. It seems somehow more possessive than merely saying my lunch hour. It makes me feel that, in starting the letter with a statement of possession, that's how he feels about the woman he's watching - mine!

Also, he uses the phrase in here, suggesting he sat and wrote up the letter (on a laptop?) while he was in the park, maybe even while he watched her.

Unknown said...

My comments will echo some of the above. I have been doing a lot of reading on stalking recently, due to the stalking/obsessive relationship of a family member.

I think this is a male, 30-40, possibly some college. I don't think he is 'shy' at all. He wrote this note expressly to inform this woman that she is being watched on a regular basis, by him from the woods. His language in my opinion reveals that he has considered attacking her, but been deterred by her "very large, aggressive looking dogs, the bear spray, and the knife he KNOWS she carries".

He is messing with her mind, playing a game of cat and mouse. He states that he has been watching her, and implies that he will continue watching her by writing in italics that he is not 'as of yet' aquainted with the mongrel dog. By leaving the note he is ratcheting up the game/stalking. He wants to instill fear in her, and influence (control) her life. What could be more terrifying than to wonder if ever man you encounter in your daily routine is the sicko watching you from the woods? He could be her boss, her neighbor or a complete stranger, so every aspect of her life is tainted until he is identified.

He applied cologne heavy enough so that she could smell it from his hiding spot in the woods. That was also a way of playing with her mind, letting her know that those feelings that someone is watching her are real. Then he describes being close enough to hear her conversation, and watching her smell his scent. He states that she is smart enough to understand that his behavior is not creepy. This seems to be an attempt at flattery, but is also creepy in that he makes assumptions about her intelligence and her reaction, which comes off somewhat like a threat imo. Kind of like, if you are smart enough to play your cards right, then I pose no threat.

Looking foward to the analysis!

Anonymous said...

I live by Detroit and was thinking canadian. What do you guys thing 'aboot' that ehhh?

Unknown said...

I also find it concerning that he said when the dog knew he was there, his hair stood on end. Is he watching with binoculars to actually SEE that, or is he just describing the reaction he thinks the dog had, revealing that he considers himself a danger that the dog would pick up on? He mentions the dogs several times, making them a sensitive subject for him. Likely because he see's them as hindering his attack.

If he only wanted to politely speak to her and introduce himself, why would he be so worried to approach her and her dogs. If they were vicious animals that would attack anyone who spoke to her, she likely wouldn't take them for public walks...so his concerns about the dogs are likely based on behavior he knows would provoke a reaction from them.

charlotte from denmark said...

He knows the difference between your-you're and its-it's.

That is always something..

Other than that, he is obsessed with her dogs, so I believe he is afraid of dogs or doesn't like them.

He has already raped a woman, probably back in college, and did not get caught. He has dark, short hair, green or blue eyes and is about 5.7.

40 years old, has never been married. His father is dead, his mother is old and in ill health.

Anonymous said...

I think he displays enmeshment- like she is in a 'world' with him sort of.

Anonymous said...

I am confused, he seems to be somewhat intelligent but by leaving this note if she was interested in him how would she send him the signal of yes please come say hello I'd like to meet you? He did not know that this would be found unless he put it directly in her path that day and he knew she was going to be there but it doesn't sound like it was picked up by her if they were looking for her at one point. It worries me that he would leave the note risking all contacts knowing that she could be creeped out and I wonder if he is also watching her at home. To take the risk of writing this scare her off and losing her completely it just seems like he would have a backup way to watch her to take that risk.

Anonymous said...

When looking for his inttention to it doesn't come till the very end where he says I wanted to tell you you are beautiful and have a beautiful body but it took all of the building up just to get to that point. He spent that whole time telling details about her and what he notices just to make her feel uncomfortable it seems, he waited to the very end to tell her that there is much more than he wants to do then just tell her that she is beautiful in one sentence.

John Mc Gowan said...

Male or Female:

Male, although females tend to use "I" "My" more often.

Approximate Age: 25/35

Education Level: Above average.

Personality Traits:

Passive aggressive, loner, may have issue with cleanliness, fastidious, structured, obsessive, lacking in social skills and stubborn.

Does subject pose threat?

Physical threat i would say no, not at this time. Psychologically yes.

John Mc Gowan said...

OT Update Heather Elvis:

Exclusive interview: Chelsea talks to Tammy Caison Moorer.

She's the wife of Sidney Moorer -- the "older man" that was reportedly involved with Heather before she vanished.

http://www.chelseahoffman.com/2014/01/exclusive-interview-chelsea-talks-to.html

Anonymous said...

male,college graduate. His age is confusing to me. He speaks like a 20-30 years old, but some of his words indicate an older man. He might live with his father or grandfather?
He must be about average hight to slightly tall. (The girl looks like a TINY fox to him, the big dog looks very large.)

He makes it sound like he is a wolf in the woods watching a prey.

He says he is shy, but I am not convinced. He might just enjoys the "game".

"You seem to realize when you are being watched, but ...give you a SENSE of security." He seems to indicate he himself is a threat.

"I am very impressed every time I see you IN THE WOODS."
Location is important for him. Did he/does he hunt or worked/works in the woods? He feels home in the woods. Does he see her anywhere else?

He is dangerous. He acts and speaks like a predator. Instead of saying hello, he puts out a note for her, to let her know she is being watched, and liked, and he knows she has a knife. He thinks he is being romantic, but he admits it is creepy. He already made his first step toward her with the note, and he does not care about what others think.

It is interesting he highlights he KNOWS she has a knife and a bear spray. Did he see them? It seems like he wanted to give a clue to her.
Creepy.

Karen T said...

Peter, I find the following post creepy.
" charlotte from denmark said...
He knows the difference between your-you're and its-it's.

That is always something..

Other than that, he is obsessed with her dogs, so I believe he is afraid of dogs or doesn't like them.

He has already raped a woman, probably back in college, and did not get caught. He has dark, short hair, green or blue eyes and is about 5.7.

40 years old, has never been married. His father is dead, his mother is old and in ill health."


January 22, 2014 at 1:47 AM

That is a lot of detail from an alleged stranger who supposedly does not know this guy. ???

I personally believe it is a man & that not only is he creepy but he is dangerous. He has begun a game of 'cat & mouse'. SHE needs to find a different trail. Maybe a different time of day.

John Mc Gowan said...

OT.

Family organizes search party for missing woman:

Rangers said they will formulate a formal search party, according to Garden Ridge PD. That will not happen until Saturday, though.
Josh Bearden said they are organizing an independent search part at 8 a.m. Wednesday 1/22 at the Covenant Baptist Church.
Original Story
The search continues for 33-year-old Leanne Bearden. Her husband Josh says that Leanne went for a run last Friday afternoon, and he hasn't seen her since.
The couple had just returned from a two year trip around the world and were staying at his parents' home in Garden Ridge. They were supposed to fly home to Colorado Tuesday, but with Leanne still missing, that appears unlikely.

Josh Bearden says her wife is adventurous, and could have possibly injured herself while out for her run if she took a turn and decided to go exploring. He says that she would have had at home sixty dollars in cash, and some credit cards, but no cell phone.
Bearden said Garden Ridge police did say Leanne decided to leave the house on her own.

"She left on her own free will that is what she did that is absolutely true, but what happened after she left the house on her own free will I don't know," Bearden told me.

Both the Comal County Sheriff's office and Garden Ridge Police say neither have active searches going on right now.

Anyone with any information about Leanne is urged to call Comal County Dispatch at 830-620-3400.

John Mc Gowan said...

Bearden said Garden Ridge police did say Leanne decided to leave the house on her own.

The way the above sentence is slotted in in this report it comes across that the police said she left the house of her own accord, however, it was her husband who told them, as stated below.

"She left on her own free will that is what she did that is absolutely true, but what happened after she left the house on her own free will I don't know," Bearden told me.

I don't know if the word "Left" has as much
sensitivity given that he is the one saying she "Left on her own free will".

"She left on her own free will" is repeated making it sensitive.

He then goes on to say.

"that is absolutely true"

Does he need to say this? For me this is needless unless he was asked if it was true.

"She left on her own free will that is what she did that is absolutely true, but what happened after she left the house on her own free will I don't know,"

The shortest sentence is the best sentence, extra words give us extra information. We see her(given that he was not asked if it was true) he adds "absolutely true"

These words are not needed, However, he feels the need to add add it to his statement.

"Absolutely true"

He then qualifies it by using the word "Absolutely" thus weakening it.

"but what happened after she left the house on her own free will I don't know,"

"I don't know"

We note anything said in the negative as sensitive.

In my opinion i would look closer at the husband given the language he uses.

http://www.kens5.com/news/Search-for-Leanne--241209121.html

JerseyJane said...

VERY BIG THREAT::: He takes note of her defenses against her...aggressive dogs, spray, knife... He says he KNOWS she carries the concealed knife... He mentions her beautiful body and knowing concealed knife exists, which shows his COMPLETE examination of her body, he Has become one with her thru her body movements and her senses..... The dogs are her best defense, thank goodness, he is very fearful.. Even though he tries not to be....
Older but not too old(late 20's-50) Avid reader, able to subdue a female but not bodybuilder type, loner, never dated; still pouring on the cologne as a 14yo..

S + K Mum said...

I would say male but maybe that's what the author wants her to think by talking about cologne.... I just feel like the language in the note is quite gentle, even though it is very creepy.

Older than the the dog walker (she is referred to as 'girl' and 'young lady'). So the author feels a fair bit older. Maybe 20 years. But I think this also depends on how young the dog walker actually is (if shes a teenager then the gap may be less than 20 years).

The note writer is fairly articulate, using words like 'cease' instead of stop, and gets their points across well without rambling on.

I don't think the author only watches this lady whilst she is walking her dog. I think she is being watched at home. I don't think the knife she carries will be on show so the author has maybe seen her picking it up at home- it could well be someone she knows and has spoken to about what she carries with her. The word 'know' is in italics, has the dog walker
told the author about it and this is a hint to her?

The author isn't shy, the author comments on her beauty and her body, also left her this creepy note, admitting to stalking.

The author is unsure of her 'scary' dogs - I think the fact she carries a knife and the author is scared of her dogs has so far kept her safe.

I think she knows the person and doesn't realise it yet, this person has an obsession with the dog walker and for some reason can't tell her about it (and I don't think it's because of shyness). Maybe someone who feels it would be entirely inappropriate to tell her due to age, gender or position of authority?

Anonymous said...

Good point about it being a concealed knife. I didn't catch that. He has really studied her, I imagine. He seems to want to stress to her that he knows she carries it, even though she believes it to be hidden. Is he watching her at her car while she prepares for her walk, gearing up, or following her back to it to watch her put it away as she gets in the car to leave? It looks to me that he's equating the shared awareness of the concealed knife to a twisted intimacy with her. He may have even convinced himself that it is specifically him she's hiding it from.

Anonymous said...

It's somebody who knows her.People couldn't"spot"a concealed knife OR identify "bear spray"just my opinion :)

Anonymous said...

(Me)^^ I can't"sign in"

Anonymous said...

There's only one contraction in the entire letter. Very tense note. I couldn't write that long of a letter without using contractions like that, at least without a sedative. He was very self aware and cautious in his wording. All that, just to say hello? Not logical.

C5H11ONO said...

IF YOU ARE A GIRL AND HAVE A PITBULL TERRIER, STOP!

This message is for a certain young lady who owns multiple pitbull terriers, so if this is not you, cease reading.
--What made him change from “girl” at the top of the heading, to a young lady. It would be justifiable if there was a change in reality, but he is still referring to the person that has pitbull terriers. He changed from singular to plural from the heading. From reading further I learned that there is one particular pitbull he is weary of, the big one. That means she has several, but one in particular stands out and that one isn’t too keen on him.

I see you nearly every lunch hour of mine in here. You seem to have 3-4 dogs, two
black ones and a brindle, along with a mongrel I am not as of yet familiar with.
Perhaps it belongs to your friend.
--He knows how many pitbull terriers she has, he is also familiar with their colors. I had to look up brindle in order to see what it means. This person is familiar with dogs and possibly pit bulls/terriers. This person comes out to this area at lunch time. This means to me, that this person has a job close by and takes his lunch hour at the same time because he knows that is the time she will be at the park or wooded area this girl goes to walk her dogs. She must have recently been walking a mongrel as he is not familiar with the dog yet. Does this mean that when she is not around he is following her home and becoming familiar with her dogs? He thinks it doesn’t belong to her, and I think that he knows where she lives and when she isn’t there he hasn’t seen the mongrel. I have had dogs, but haven’t used this term to describe them, so I think he is familiar with dogs and knows about them. I noticed he said he sees her “in here”, so is he writing on his computer in the park/woods? Is this his way of blending in?

--Yesterday, you were in here with a friend, with the brown dog and the mongrel.
-- He has seen her with the mongrel too, but noticed her friend had the mongrel. He felt it was important enough to address her interaction with her friend and I think he’s resentful as it adds stress on him not being able to approach her.

--Everytime that I see you coming, I want to approach you and introduce myself.
This means that he is already there when she arrives as he sees her coming. He is expecting her and he is anticipating her daily. He wants to approach her and introduce himself, but wanting is all he can muster as he hasn’t done it.

--Instead, I find myself overcome by shyness and jumping off the trail, and watching you from afar.
This guy watches her a lot. Four references to watching in the one page sentence.

C5H11ONO said...

--But yesterday, I slipped up and almost came out to say hello, but
thought better of it. I was too close and you could smell my cologne. I was close
enough to hear you ask your friend if she smelt cologne, and I watched you stop and
smell the air.
He misspelled “smell” in the past tense. This may be a common spelling error, but I think he misspelled it incorrectly on purpose. He knows how to use past tense with the word “watch” correctly by spelling watched by adding “ed” at the end. What would make him use the word “smelt”. Smelting is a form of producing a metal from its ore. Does the writer work in a plant nearby that does this?
He indicates that he slipped up and almost came out to say hello, but thought better of it. He believes that coming out to say hello would be a mistake on his part. Why would he believe this would be a mistake? Does he have other intentions and would prefer to remain anonymous until he is ready to announce himself to her. I think that he has bad intentions with her and would prefer that she not know who he is because she wouldn’t be able to describe him to police. He wants her to know though, that he was close by letting her know that he could hear her conversation with her friend. He lets her know that he watched her stop and smell the air. I think this is a message to her to let her know that when she did this, the only person she thought was present at the time was just her friend, yet he wants her to know he saw her too.

You reminded me of a tiny fox the way you lifted your face and
scented the air.
--He is a stalker. Stalkers watch and then pounce. A fox is an animal that is stalked. He compares her to stalked prey.

I know that your dog seen me because the hair on its back stood up.
--He doesn’t say which pit bull saw her, but obviously there is one that isn’t too keen about him. Another reason I know he goes to her house to be near her dogs and befriend them. Apparently the big one isn’t falling for him.

I watched you grab your dog before he could bolt into the woods, thankfully for me
as it, is a very big dog.

I am very impressed every time I see you in the woods. You seem to realize when
you are being watched, but perhaps your very large, aggressive looking dogs, plus
the bear spray and the concealed knife I know that you carry, give you a sense of
security.
--This is scary language and I think his intention is to scare her. He is impressed by her ability to know when she is being watched, then refutes what he says about her ability to sense his presence and attributes it to the dogs, but then weakens the statement by adding “very”, then “large”, then “aggressive” and weakening aggressive by adding “looking”. I think that he is familiar with her dogs and they are no longer actually aggressive, but aggressive looking. He italicized “know” when addressing his knowledge of her concealed knife. If he knows it’s concealed, how did he learn of it? He might be watching her prior to her leaving her house. He is scary because he tells her that the spray and knife only give her a sense of security, not that they provide security to her. He knows where her weapons are and he is letting her know she is at a disadvantage.

C5H11ONO said...

However, you obviously have sharp senses, as every time that you stop and
look around yourself, I feel as if I am almost caught.
--I think this guy would attack her, except he thinks she can sense him before he takes her by surprise and he wouldn’t be able to overpower her. This leaves me to believe that the person writing this is not a very strong person. That is why they probably have followed her everywhere and have befriended her “aggressive looking” dogs, but he isn’t a strong guy. I think he is thin and slender without muscle bulk. I noticed that he wrote “everytime” above and then separated it a second time “every time”. I think he is purposely misspelling stuff.

I just wanted to tell you that I think you are very beautiful and have a beautiful
body. I do not intend for this message to scare you, as it shouldn’t.
--What we say in the negative is important. He does intend on scaring her.

I only hope that
one day I am courageous enough to come out and say hello.
--He recognizes he is weak. He is not courageous. This is the language of a coward.

I realize that other
people who read this may find it “creepy,” but you seem to be smart enough to
know the difference, and frankly, it is no one elses business.
--He thinks he has a relationship with her. The fact that he believes that this is only between him and her and it is no one else’s business is because he believes there is a relationship going on. He misspelled “elses”, perhaps on purpose again.

I believe the writer is a male. He refers to “cologne” which is what men wear, possibly older men.
I believe this person is of above-average intelligence, but no formal college. I think the writer is smart, but doesn’t have more than a high school diploma.
The personality traits of this person are those of a stalker. He is familiar with dogs.
He holds a menial job, and the reason I believe this is because he takes lunch at the same time every day, and that’s how he is able to be at the park/woods when this girl comes out to walk her dogs. He is a loner as he doesn’t go to lunch with his co-workers.
I think he poses a threat because he doesn’t want her to see him.
I think he is older, but didn’t really grow up, so his mentality is younger than his age. As if he stopped growing at age 17, but now is in his 30’s or 40’s. He refers to cologne, which reminds me of an older person. I don’t know of young kids that actually wear cologne, much less bathe.

Anonymous said...

She wrote this HERSELF!! (ME).

Anonymous said...

My reaction is that this person may have wanted to be in the military or police force but didn't make the cut.

elf said...

Caucasian male. Mid thirties-early forties. Some college, probably community college. Low self esteem. Works a job that's solitary (repair lineman for electric company or delivery person or phone company perhaps). Slightly overweight. Yes he poses a danger to the object of his obsession.

Jo said...

Anon - I don't know if you are being serious about her writing it herself but I think so too.

I am not sure why I feel that way, maybe the overuse of "I" and "you" in the letter. Overused to make sure the reader sees it as two different people.

Local anaon in the Hailey Dunn case said...

Male, late 30's to early 40's, college educated, some kind of office job in IT or the like (Limited social skills, communicates electronically.) I agree with the poster who said he wanted to be military police (or LE of somekind. He has stalked her at her home. (The knife and bear spray.) I hope authorities are staking this place out and find out who this person is! And agreed, he knows dogs but is afraid of them. I hope to here the profile.

Dane said...

Just a guess.... It's a woman who has had a conversation with the "girl", hence knowing about the knife and bear spray. But the woman is afraid of the girl's dogs and is trying to scare her away from walking in that area.

C5H11ONO said...

Perhaps he works at the park/area where the girl goes to. Like a gardener or keeper. the fact that he sees her coming makes me thing that he has time to wait for her. The fact he gets so close makes me think that he is able to because she wouldn't be suspicious of him if she were to come upon him being close by. He was just raking those leaves.

Another thought is that he could be a security guard or police man. He used the word "concealed" when referring to her knife. I'm not a police officer, and that's not how I would have referenced it. I would have said, you keep a knife hidden inside you left pocket. Or something to that effect. Not that you have a "concealed" weapon. This is lingo of security/police officer.

CG said...

C5H1110NO,

Great observations about his familiarity with dogs. I had to look up brindle too.

With so many dogs, I wondered if she is a professional dog walker and these are not her own dogs.

Your comments make me wonder- in saying he is not familiar yet with the one dog, is he telling her the dogs will be no protection in the end, that he has a plan that includes disarming or disabling the dogs?

CG said...

Another thought- the description of how she comes into the woods with her bear spray and knife and dogs even though she senses his presence- is this blaming the victim before she is victimized?

Statement Analysis Blog said...

A few things to keep in mind:

1. Anonymous letters have a tie or correlation, with homosexuality.

This is not a judgement, but a statistical tie. If you have a political agenda, it is not something you'd like to see or deal with.

Because of this, there is sometimes a confusion in the writer.

2. Anonymous letters can come from the person, herself. It is more common than you might guess.

3. In Anonymous letters, careful, slow, and group work (multitude of opinions) works best.

4. Anonymous letters DO most often reveal the identity. It's in there; it just has to be dug out.

5. Often the work is not only painstakingly slow, word by word, but even letter by letter.

6. If you have agendas of any kind, you'll be misled. You must be "dispassionate" in the work and "not care" if you are wrong.

One sentence will appear to make you certain that it is an educated female, while the next makes you certain it is an uneducated male. DO NOT be afraid to sound schizophrenic while working through it.

Peter

PS: No one has given the "30 something male, balding, under-employed living in his aunt's basement" profile that was so popular in the 80's and 90's! :)

Anonymous said...

Video showing trail, several copies of this same letter posted on trees.
Other letters were found prior to the one posted here, says authorities.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-buzz/creepy-secret-admirer-letters-left-campbell-river-trail-184223883.html

Jo said...

This message is for a certain young lady who owns multiple pitbull terriers, so if this is not you, cease reading.

You seem to have 3-4 dogs……
….along with a mongrel I am not as of yet familiar with. Perhaps it belongs to your friend.

I know that your dog seen me……

I watched you grab your dog…

your very large, aggressive looking dogs…….

The writer starts off not knowing ownership of the dogs but then continues to refer to the dogs as belonging to the girl. The writer does not say "the dog" but instead says "your dog" which means the writer is assigning possession. I would see this the same as the first person using "my" to take ownership but since she is writing as another person, she uses "your".

Anonymous said...

After reading Peter's comments and reading the letter again there are a few things I'm wondering about.

The phrase "come out" is included a few times in the letter. Could this be a friend who knows this girl carries a knife? A friend who is a homosexual but hasn't told anyone about it? The writer appears to have italicized the word "know" referring to knowing the girl carries a knife The first line says "if you are a girl". Is that statement confirming the writer is a girl?

I thought this had to be an older male because of the use of cologne but after reading Peter's response I'm rethinking that. I usually think of an older male as wearing cologne. Plus I have preconceived ideas about about a creepy guy in the woods and didn't even consider that it could be a girl.

C5H11ONO said...

The trails are managed by a land trust company that relies heavily on volunteers. It could very well be a female volunteer. She is there all the time, and she is afraid of getting caught because she may not want people to think she is gay, but she secretly admires the girl. Interesting to note in one of the articles about the creepy writer, it states that police located the girl with the dogs and she was not concerned. I wouldn't be if I wrote it either. Interesting, very interesting.

S + K Mum said...

Thinking about what commentators are saying about the dog walker writing it herself.....I do feel a woman has written it...... is this another fake hate crime?? Because people are scared of this breed of dog. Is she trying to get other walkers out of the area who disapprove of her dogs?

Anonymous said...

"I see you nearly every lunch hour of mine in here" Interesting idea C5H11ONO, the idea of it being a volunteer or worker on the trails.

Local anon in the Hailey Dunn case said...

"I see you nearly every lunch hour of mine in here"

Yes, now that I read this again and following C5H11ONO's comment it sounds like a volunteer. That wording struck me as odd the first time I read it but now it makes sense. Not my lunch hour. Lunch hour of mine in here, when I am here at lunch time other than someplace else.

Anonymous said...

There are four things that leads me to believe she could have written the letter herself:

1) She carries a concealed knife and bear spray. How would anyone other than herself know that she specifically carries a 'concealed' knife and stashed bear spray since these items are concealed?

If he were close enough to her to see her conceal these items, he would have been close enough for her to observe him watching her. I find it difficult to believe that he could have been as close to her so many times as he claims without her dogs going crazy chasing and barking at him.

2) Where the writer tells her she is beautiful and has a beautiful body: This makes me think she is publically seeking compliments for herself, she wants everyone to know how beautiful she is and what a gorgeous body she has.

3) The writer states she has either three or four dogs. Since 'he' has spent so much time watching and stalking her, he would know how many dogs she has, whether three or four and no guessing. This seems to be a statement where she is deliberately attempting to mislead to make it appear someone else made this statement.

4) Only an idiot would still be walking her dogs in this area, knowing she is being watched and stalked; he says she even smelled his cologne and commented to her g/f about the cologne; therefore, leading me to believe that she knows she is not being stalked, otherwise she would not be taking such a stupid risk.

IFF there actually is someone watching and stalking her, IMO, it is a man and not another woman; and, he is very dangerous.

John Mc Gowan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Vita said...

This letter is for purpose. What purpose and for who's? The header of the letter, is enlarged emboldened. As the press states several copies were posted unto trees along the traveled path.

My gut reading the header alone, I said out loud it's a woman, the author. Attention Please. For the woman who stole my man. You are a Girl and Have a Pitbull. I am watching you.

" You are a girl" the Author is the woman with the dogs.

And, "Have a Pitbull" singular, dropped pronoun, she had a Boyfriend, who she is attempting to communicate with, after a falling out. No closure on her side.

She to write of her (?) felt false securities, as he will have no contact with her present day.

There was a huge betrayal within their relationship. He cheated on her is her belief, and or he did outright. This letter is her marbles leaking. His new woman if she is a Red head, (little fox) I would be very afraid.

"You seem to realize when you're being watched, but perhaps your very large, aggressive looking dogs, plus the bear spray and the concealed knife I know that you carry, give you a sense of security."

You seem to realize When is not a question, she to catalog what she matter of fact wears on her person. Aggressive LOOKING dogs, Bear Spray, not Pepper, Concealed? knife, stranger danger man, is intimately familiar? her layers of protection. To add looking to how the dogs are observed, had looking been left out, it would red flag authorities. This person had witnessed in the park, the dogs were not in her control.

Her bases are covered.

False sense of security, haven't you figured it out yet, I am right here. I am stalking you, and your woman? She wanting his attention. She is a micro manager in her relationships? As she wrote this, methodically for his reaction.

He reading this, is her stating I am vulnerable, I am not in control, and I am armed with a concealed knife, she has a wicked tongue? she is known to him as violent? this letter is due to again, her Ex will not communicate with her.

Last paragraph, "I just wanted to tell you I think you are very beautiful, and have a beautiful body" I do not intend for this message to scare you, as it shouldn't.

I realize that other people who read this may find it creepy, but you seem to be smart enough to know the difference, and frankly, it is noone elses business.

This was written by the dog walker, her intent isn't to
scare anyone (public), as this letter was written for ONE person, it's personal. The added, I Just Wanted to tell you, I think you are,,is pretty mildly written in opposite of the emboldened chosen words prior.

I am not only watching you, I was right next to you. To last prioritized, the author, just wanted to inform her, she is beautiful, has a beautiful body. " But" you seem smart enough to know the difference.

The last paragraph is telling, she needed a closing argument with herself. The letter is written in first person. The letters posted in a public space, that with ambiguity it could be any person who frequents the park.

This is not her first attempt to gain attention in an obscure way. She is escalating. My gut says, she is the voyeur of her Ex and his new woman. This letter isn't a warning, it's for him to know, she is not going anywhere.

The word cologne is a tip off, Boyfriends wear cologne, women to use cologne correlated to when speaking of their boyfriends. Men generally do not use the word cologne, they say after shave.

She has issues.

John Mc Gowan said...

Iv'e been going through my book "The Secret Life Of Pronouns" and picked out some points i found interesting and maybe worth noting?.These are only snippets there is a lot more to his research..

The use of "I" words.

One of the most interesting results was part of a study my students and I conducted dealing with status in email correspondence. Basically, we discovered that in any interaction, the person with the higher status uses I-words less (yes, less) than people who are low in status.” ~ James Pennebaker


Gender-based language variations were among the first topics that Pennebaker studied with LIWC. Not surprisingly, he found that there are striking differences between the language usage of men and women. After analyzing thousands of blogs, essays, and other writing samples, he found that women use first-person singular pronouns like “I,” “me,” and “my” more frequently than men; according to his research, the average woman will use about 85,000 more pronouns per year than will the average man. Pennebaker attributes these findings to the tendency of women to be more self-aware than men, as has been documented by numerous psychological studies. He also found that women use more verbs and hedge phrases (such as “I think” and “I believe”), whereas men tend to use more numbers, nouns, and words per sentence.

Could this be a woman of low status given the high rate of the pronoun "I", is the author the alleged victim?

Anonymous said...

sorry i can't help on this case, i didn't get past the first paragraph.

Tania Cadogan said...

i gave it a quick once over due to being poorly still.

What stood out to me was the writer said "i know that your dog seen me"

Given the spelling etc in the letter this stood out as it was seen me and not correct saw me.

This is something that came naturally to the writer, it is part of their personal dictionary.

Anonymous said...

Using "seen" in this way is a Scottish idiom. ( e.g. "I seen", "I done") Usually from the west of Scotland, like Glasgow. The spelling of smelt is also a predominantly UK usage. The writer may have been born in the UK before emigrating to Canada.

My initial thoughts are that the writer is female - probably gay (come out/ description of Fox), maybe police, security, army or ex - use of imperatives, "stop". "cease", "concealed" weapon - or a fantasist.

Maggie said...

That is interesting about people saying she wrote it herself.
I don't know though--would she really say about herself that she is like a small fox scenting the air?
As far as the writer being a predator who wishes to or is planning on physically harming or attacking her, I dont believe that either. Predators go for easy targets, not someone who is always walking aggressive looking dogs.
The odd part about the note is that most of the focus is on the woman's dogs, how the writer admires the woman's ability to detect when she is being watched, and the bear spray and concealed knife the writer KNOWS she carries.
So, the bulk of the letter is about how well-protected the woman is and then as almost an afterthought the writer tells her she is beautiful with a beautiful body.
I cant decide male or female now. Whichever gender it is, I feel the writer is mostly interested in the dangerous dogs, bear spray, concealed knife. They are fantasizing that this woman is a tough, dangerous lady--maybe they're into weird stuff??

Eliza said...

Without having read any comments, I guess that he is male (cologne), in his 30's. I think he has some college education, he doesn't make mistakes and uses adjectives in a quite descriptive way.

Anonymous said...

I agree with CG. He is a threat.

Maggie said...

It is really strange how the note writer closes the letter by saying "it's noone else's business" after they leave these notes hung up in public for everyone to see.

Anonymous said...

Let's say, for the sake of argument, that she wrote the note herself for attention and is not concerned, knowing that it was she who wrote it. It would be foolish on her part for many reasons, but first in my mind is that it might give cover to someone who fantasizes about attacking someone at the park, thinking whoever left the note would be the prime suspect. If she was the one who wrote it, I'd say she is jealous of someone and is trying to show that she's beautiful to the point of attracting a stalker. If it was her (and I'm not convinced), she likely craved to be complimented by a love interest and wasn't.

Fig Roll said...

Peter uses the word, "herself" as opposed to themselves. The person writing the letter states, "if this is not you" THIS is close whereas THAT is distant. If you read the letter from the viewpoint of the potential writer being the lady herself, it makes interesting reading especially with the phrase"thankfully for me as it is a very big dog" An interesting perspective to consider.

Jane said...

Female in her 20s, native English speaker of above-average intelligence. Her parents are/were older than average and may not have been born in Canada. She's oriented to the outdoors in some sense, either for a job or a hobby. Based on "every time that you stop and look around yourself, I feel as if I am almost caught," I'll go with the theory that she wrote the note herself. There are quite a few references to stopping or ceasing, interestingly. I hope we learn what happened.

Anonymous said...

It is a woman. It is so specific, almost like it is coming from information that the stalking victim might have related to someone. Perhaps it is a story she told a female friend and that female friend is a bit unbalanced and decided to play / terrorize her? I don't know, but it is interesting that she (note writer) uses the term 'come out' twice. I decided to come out. Yes, she could have been hiding but this makes me think this woman (the stalker, again, I say female) is 'coming out', perhaps a closeted lesbian. This is my guess. This language, while Canadian, is too female to be a man. I believe it is either a jealous friend playing pathological games, or an unbalanced closeted woman with a dangerous crush. There you go.

Anonymous said...

Anon 3:42
While it may be Scottish it is also very indicative of the American South. Much more likely to be a redneck or someone with poor spoken grammar. Or someone trying to get others to think they are a redneck with poor spoken grammar.

However, that said, if you put this note in an online gender tracker software, it reveals that it is either a female or a 'weak male' meaning, linguistically, a man from Europe. So there you go.

Anonymous said...

My amateur analysis:

For a self-claimed shy person, this writer uses very assertive language: “stop!”, “cease reading,” “no one elses business,” which indicates that the writer is not generally shy, but obviously has a serious problem approaching women. I think this person has been referred to as “creepy” by others before, as the writer uses it himself and seems to think that the girl who reads this will have a special understanding of him that others don’t have.

“a certain young lady,” written by someone who is significantly older than she is, and likely at least in his/her 40s, as people who are in their 20s and 30s don’t use the expression “young lady” unless referring respectfully to a child. Also, “a certain” is fairly formal and archaic way of speaking. “Perhaps” is also not a phrase I hear younger people using often. “Mongrel” is also not common. Additionally, this is someone familiar with outdoors and the general area and country. (I had never heard of “bear spray” before, so this is probably very location-specific).

“In here” is an odd way to refer to the outdoors, as that usually would refer to an enclosed area. I agree with others that this person may be writing the message while actually physically in the area. The additional language “jumping off the trail” indicates that the person is not just hiding in the woods, but may be running or walking on the same trail as well. Maybe it’s someone who is walking or running and using an app to write this message verbally? However, an older person may not be familiar enough with that technology and I think the person who wrote this is in his or her 40s to 60s.

I believe that the person who wrote this is a male (possibly British or Irish – “smelt,” “as of yet,” “seen,” referring to a fox) in his late 40s to early 60s who uses the jogging trail during his lunch hour.

It's possible that it's written by an older female. Indications of homosexual overtones (as hinted at by Peter) would include the very obvious “courageous enough to COME OUT and say hello,” and certain soft language that I think women are generally more inclined to use. I think it’s a man because I don’t think a woman would use the word “cologne” to conceal identity.

Originally, I thought this letter was overtly threatening, but after coming back to read it later I think it is a very disturbed person who is trying very hard not to appear threatening and is genuinely not trying to scare the reader. Unfortunately, the true nature comes out in the phrases “concealed knife I know you carry,” “sense of security,” “do not intend for this message to scare you,” “a mongrel I am not as yet familiar" (indicating an intention to know in the future). I think the writer actually thinks the reader will respond well to the letter.

Sus said...

I think the note writer is a sexually confused male. He was raised in a strict, puritanical home and taught sex was a taboo. His age is hard to determine because of his emotional immaturity. I would guess he is two to ten years older than the girl/young lady. He uses some phrases I would expect from an older person and someone who is educated. Then he uses "seen" instead of saw and "noone". He was raised to speak proper, old English, yet he was also exposed to local lingo...Amish? Orthodox Jewish? I'm not trying to blame a certain group...just looking at how he may have been raised to speak and think as he does.

Unknown said...

Some really good points raised here.

What strikes me most is how familiar the author seems to be with the target. More so than I would imagine someone watching from afar might realistically be. The author knows the breed and colours of the dogs, knows that the girl carries a concealed knife and bear spray! How? The author also know the sex of the big dog "I watched you grab your dog before he could bolt into the woods" How likely is this if the dog is being seen from afar? Even if seen close up how many people pay attention to a dog's genitalia? Also, how can the author know that the target "seems to be smart enough to know the difference"?

I also agree with John ... Pennebaker's work with pronouns is excellent, and the use of lots of first person singular is more common for a female author.

For the purpose of a letter to be to tell the target how beautiful she is, there is surprisingly little content to that effect. Not to mention that the sentence extolling her beauty comes near the end of the letter, not the start where you would expect it.

I numbered the lines and counted the entries for particular topics (crude, but gave at least some idea)

In a letter with 24 lines there are:
2 lines with references to the beauty of the target.
8 lines with references to dogs - 1/3!
4 lines that talk about the targets keen senses and security measures

11 out of 24 lines talk about either dogs or security - nearly 50%!!

This strikes me as more of the reason for the letter than declaring admiration for the beauty of the girl.

Could it be written by the girl herself? Perhaps to scare off a would be stalker? Maybe she had an incident occur where she smelled cologne? Surrounded by two 'buts' or blues as Peter calls them, and thought she was being followed? Attention seeking?

I've enjoyed reading everyone's comments and getting involved. I'm interested to see how this turns out.

Anonymous said...

I personally tend to refer to any unknown creature as a he. If I saw a puppy, I would say, "Aw, isn't he cute?" instead of she. I've even had my kids correct me once when I yelped about a mosquito biting, saying he bit me, that only female mosquitos bite for blood.

I don't believe it would take close proximity, either, to note a dog's breed. Certainly I wouldn't fear being mistaken for a stalker if I was close enough to determine someone had a beagle, for instance. Just sayin'.

Unknown said...

Fair points anon@12:49. I was thinking more about the author referring to the unusual colouring of one of the dogs as a 'brindle' - although I should have remembered to write it. I'd never heard of brindle until I read the letter ... I had to google it! Of course just because I didn't know doesn't mean the author shouldn't know, and it is likely I am wrong on all of my thinking, but I enjoyed contributing my tuppence. :)

Sus said...

The note writer states this is a MESSAGE. A message has a purpose, and he tells that purpose in the next line. "I SEE YOU."

The trail is his comfort zone, where he can "watch" women. He refers to the trail as "IN HERE" repeatedly. Statistics show crimes of bodily harm are by far committed IN somewhere...a car, a home, a room. The note-writer sees the trail as IN and the girl/young lady is encroaching. You can also see he watches everything and everyone on his trail when he says he isn't familiar with the mongrel AS YET.

He is a peeping Tom, a voyeur of sorts. He feels he cannot be near women evidenced by his quotes of almost approaching her and almost messing up and being too close. But in his comfort area he feels he can "watch" them.

As for this "certain young lady"(his words), he was emboldened by yesterday's encounter. He saw it as an interaction and it thrilled him to almost be caught. He is seeing her as the aggressor. "You were coming toward me." "You sensed someone was watching you." It's all about her knowing he was watching her and him thinking she wanted him to watch her.

In closing, he tells her she is beautiful almost as a side thought...probably because he thinks she wants to hear that. He tells her she'll understand. Understand what? "I see you." He thinks she wants to be watched.

C5H11ONO said...

Female writers use more pronouns like I, you, she, their, myself) males prefer words that identify or determine nouns (a, the, that) and words that quantify them (one, two, more) plural pronouns.

http://www.nature.com/news/1998/030714/full/news030714-13.html

This letter in particular is riddled with I's and you's because in my pronoun count, I ended up counting them.
There are quite a lot of them mind you.

If this was written by the girl herself, it might explain why when questioned she didn't seem too concerned.

If this was written by a female, then if the anonymous statistics apply, it was written by a gay woman.

I would suggest for police to line up all the workers that work at the trail, including the park rangers and have the girl sniff (using the anonymous writer's vernacular) them out. Smell is directly related to memory, and if this was not done by her, then she will recall the scent. It may be a woman's fragrance, but used "cologne" to divert gender to the girl reading it. Either way, she will recall the scent and the anon writer will be outed at last.

John Mc Gowan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
John Mc Gowan said...


"IF you are a GIRL and
have A Pitbull
Terrier,
Stop!"

Something doesn't sit right with this heading?.

"If"

The author is asking "If" she is "A" girl. Given that they have allegedly been stalking her for some time, why say "If" you are a girl, surely they must know.

"A" girl.

Here they use the indefinite article "A" girl.

Given that the author allegedly knows "The" girl, would they not say "The girl" with the Pitbull terrier, because, they have already identified them.

"A Pitbull terrier"

Again we have the indefinite article "A" and again the author claims to know her, so why "A" instead of "The" Pitbull?.

"A Pitbull terrier"

Here the author uses the singular "Pitbull Terrier". Yet in the message they say "Pitbull Terriers" Plural?.

Putting all this together i would expect the heading to read something like this.

The girl with the
Pitbull Terriers
Stop!

Or.

If you are the girl with the pitbull terriers stop!

If i have got the grammar all wrong here, please let me know.

Anonymous said...

Stephen,

That's a great point about the number of times the dogs are mentioned. Maybe it was written by someone who hates and/or is irritated by her dogs and wants to retaliate against her or persuade the girl to go to a different trail. That is a very real possibility.

Anonymous said...

Stephen Picton, I enjoyed reading your tuppence. :) I was just hashing out thoughts out loud and trying to make sense of a letter that I'm sure we're off base on. It always seems that way - close in ideas but details we could have never come up with. Its funny how we all seem to recognize the pieces and can get them close to where they belong, but the final puzzle picture is always a surprise.

Unknown said...

True anon @ 3:11, if it was easy then every crime involving a letter would be solved in record time. As it stands though, not so much.

CG said...

After reading what Peter said and a few other comments, I am reconsidering that she might have written it herself. The one piece of evidence that influences me the most is the use of the word "brindle." Someone who owned one would know that word, perhaps, but it seems many of the rest of us didn't. I know we are not supposed to look beyond the words in statement analysis, but her reported reaction of not being very concerned sticks out like a red flag.

JerseyJane said...

John, I felt the same way about the title of the letter...

My thoughts: does the stalker see males on that trail with pitbulls? It could be that simple or it could be the homosexuality factor he hasn't dealt with inside him.. He doesn't know quite who he is attracted to, one or the other or both.. Or does it show just how out of touch he is socially with women?? Like never!! Example: a dog, a girl....
That was a big clue to me feeling how backward he is in this category ..
Another thought: If written by dog walker, it shows her trying to disown herself as the writer.. By her saying "a girl", she relieves herself of some of the guilt of what she created, I feel.. A girl can be others but the girl narrows it to her , the writer...

Summarizing what Peter said, put the thoughts out there!

Anonymous said...

Weird-o. Maybe on his way to doing something dangerous at some point to someone. He seems to almost be telling on himself-knowing that he is dangerous.

JerseyJane said...

I knew Brindle... Didn't know til I became a Boxer owner..then became more aware of what other breeds have Brindle colorings..I did have an 8yo kid with his mom that wanted to make conversation with me and wanted to pet my boxer.. He said he has a boxer and it is brindle color... Then in a nursing home a 95 year old shared memories of her 16yo boxer saying it was brindle color... So I just think it depends on ur exposure and when u become exposed...and how popular the breed is in ur country, ur state, or community...

Anonymous said...

For those of you who believe she wrote it herself, what do you think would be her motivation? If police reported that she didn't seem concerned about it, to me her lack of concern makes it more likely that she didn't write it herself.

What are some of the reasons a person would do this in general? Isn't it usually for attention, like that transexual woman who said the three men attacked her? Wouldn't someone who wrote this herself be on every news channel trying to bring attention to the letter, rather than not be concerned about it when questioned?

Anonymous said...

Anon @7:45, I agree. If the note was left by a true watcher and not the girl, he or she seems to be contemplating escalating the situation.

Then we have this:

"I only hope that one day I am courageous enough to come out and say hello. I realize that other people who read this may find it "creepy," but you seem to be smart enough...."

I find it interesting that the author acknowledges that some may find "it" creepy, but it appears open to interpretation whether the "this" referred to in the sentence is the note itself or the act of coming out and saying hello.

Lorraine said...

Maybe the writer of the note is the "friend" she is with on the trail.???? Maybe the "friend" wrote the note knowing that she would share the note with her and then see her reaction to how she would feel if someone had feelings for her?...

I really hope that Peter will give us his input?????? Please?????? Thanks

Anonymous said...

The writer did use the number three in the letter but uses "3-4" instead of the number three on it's own. This has been an interesting thread to follow.

emerald said...

Having recently read Gavin deBecker's book, "The Gift of Fear", I would add that any time an anonymous letter writer mentions weapons, no matter the context, a threat is present. Also, if you list several of the words present in the letter, the list itself will sometimes indicate if there is a threat. It helps to take several words away from the sentence context and examine them as a whole. For example, in this letter these words appear:
cease
see
approach
jumping
watching
close
watched
fox
grab
bolt
very large
aggressive
bear spray
concealed knife
security
sharp
caught
look around
caught
creepy
Isolating these words indicates that a threat is present.

Unknown said...

Interesting post Emerald, I'm downloading that book onto Kindle as I type this. Thankyou.

John Mc Gowan said...

"Perhaps it belongs to (your) friend".

Here the author identifies her friend and places ownership with the word "Your"..Do they know who the friend is?.Have they seen them together more than once?

"Yesterday, you were with (a) friend, with a brown dog and a mongrel"

We then have the author use the words "(A) friend" .Is the author not familiar with this person?. Is this the first time they have seen them together, given they do not place ownership with the words "Your" friend like above.Could this be just a random stranger who is out walking their dogs too, or someone they class as not her friend?

"I was close enough to hear you, ask your friend if (She) smelt cologne"

We now have the author identifying the gender of the friend.
Does she have multiple friends, male and female..Does the author only apply the words "Your Friend" when it is a female, and "A friend", when its is a male, almost like they don't want to give ownership to her by saying "Your Friend"

I am beginning to sway over to the side that the author is female, However, i maybe way off.

Anonymous said...

Anon @ 7:59 p.m., the very same reasons you think that this woman didn't write the letter herself are some of the very same reasons I think she did, among others!

Rachael said...

John, thank you for singling out this line:

"Yesterday, you were with (a) friend, with a brown dog and a mongrel"

The writer gives a lot of specifics about the subject of the notes dogs, but brushes the friends dogs off with very simple descriptions. And the word mongrel has a somewhat negative connotation. This line lets us know that the writer is less than impressed with the friend, owner of boring brown dogs and mutts.

I wonder if this was the first time the girl was there with a friend, and if this was the reason for the note. Did the writer feel that she needed to act quickly, did she feel threatened by the friend?



Anonymous said...

A brindle colored dog is very common. Just because a few have never seen or heard of 'brindle' doesn't mean they aren't common. They're brownish/blackish/goldish color all over, are very dark, actually sort of an ugly mix of streaked coloration. I have one myself. A VERY sweet dog.

Google pit bull mix; also Google Florida Cur, bred to be a wild-hog chaser in organized hunts. Many are used primarily by hunt clubs, are well-trained and hard workers, are always on watch; also make excellent family pets and good watch dogs.

charlotte from denmark said...

Karen T, why did you find my post creepy?
It should be obvious that I don't know how the writer looks like. I am guessing and at the same time making fun of the so called profilers.

My IP will show that I live in Scandinavia, and I have never been to USA.

Anonymous said...

Anon @ 7:59
For those of you who believe she wrote it herself, what do you think would be her motivation?

She accomplishes at least two things. First, she paints herself as desirable. Second, she creates an air of danger which may necessitate someone accompanying her on these walks for extra safety. Perhaps this affords her more time with the "friend?"

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the responses to my post about what motivations the girl may have had for writing it herself.

Emerald, I love "The Gift of Fear," it is one of my favorite books, and I have given copies of the book (you can find cheap copies at Half Price Books) to my friends. That was a great post about singling out the threatening words, I didn't even pick up on that. Time to pick up the book and read it again!

Anonymous said...

I too thought the writer knew a ton about dogs, but then I wondered if maybe the writer is, rather, the kind of person who would pester several other people in their life (coworkers etc.) with questions with the subject in absentia, until they answered it. Like “brindle”. (“You know what it’s like when a dog is brown and blotchy, what’s that called?”) (And for the record, I had seen written but never looked up “brindle” before now.)

Also had the thought about her potentially being a dog walker, which would mean that the writer has never been to her house or has no idea who she is outside of the dog run, or the writer would not peg them all as hers colloquially, or pass up a chance to say “when you dogsit” or similar.

I also wonder how large the “concealed knife” is. Can we guarantee she’s not really tough, with a Bowie tucked into her waistband? It seems to be the default assumption it’s some sort of tiny Swiss Army pigsticker but I’m not sure we can, it might be that some people are assuming based on themselves or women they have known and what they would carry, that it has to be a tiny knife. The writer, after all, calls it a knife, not a “little knife”, although elsewhere is “girl” and “little fox”, both of which are demeaning/designed to belittle/make something as ineffectual as it can be. So for whatever reason, the writer both diminishes the knife (it won’t save you), and yet seems to respect it. It's "concealed", which is both a common known term and simultaneously, I feel it was chosen because the writer finds the fact that the woman is armed, to be a thrilling secret only they share.

Another question is how the writer knows so much about foxhunting metaphors. Do people hunt foxes much nowadays? I've heard they're not tasty, and some of the word pictures make it sound more like the writer is some kind of 1800s British landowner hunting on horseback and not on foot, which makes me think they are self educated, and would read novels from or describing that time period.

I don’t think writer has been stalking this woman outside of the trails, though. The writer vacillates between wanting the stalkee to think that they know everything about her, as others have said so beautifully, “talking big”. In reality, what keeps leaking out is that the writer does not possess omnipotent knowledge of the woman, and is guessing.

Lastly, I wonder if it's such a wooded trail it's possible the writer could take cell phone video footage of the woman without her knowing, which could also explain the minute recollection of details.

Anonymous said...

Anon @ 7:47 p.m., you are 'assuming' that this really is a stalker pursuing this woman. None of us knows with any certainty whether this is an actual male stalker, is a lesbian trailing along and is making brownie points which she intends to reveal herself to the girl later; or if the "girl" actually wrote the letter herself.

If it IS a stalker, then the stalker is dangerous and will act out eventually, if not with this girl, then with another one. If the letter was written by the girl, then she needs serious mental health care. She is a bottled cork waiting to pop.

It is my first reaction that the woman wrote the letter herself. She makes indepth wordy comments detailing many encounters by her supposed stalker and takes great pains to make it appear that she is being stalked, yet has no fear of her stalker and dismisses the idea as if it were nothing; while painting herself as "a girl" meaning she is a young woman and not an older woman, is beautiful, smart and intelligent; she is seeking attention and appreciation.

For beginners, if it were really a stalker, either male OR female, the stalker would have been too close to the woman not to have been seen by her, or for the dogs not to react in a barking frenzy at the sneaky stalker. To be able to 'see' that she was carrying a concealed weapon and many other comments made in the letter, the so-called stalker would have had to be almost right up in the womans' face and easily seen by her, as well as many other hints that the woman wrote the letter herself.

At this point, with nothing more to go on; it appears to me that a lot of time is being wasted by everyone analyzing this letter who are not carefully considering that the woman may have, and likely did, write the letter herself.

Anonymous said...

DID ANYONE NOTICE IN THE 4TH PARAGRAPH "YOU SEEM TO REALIZE WHEN YOU ARE BEING WATCHED...", THE 2ND "YOU" IS ITALICIZED?

That indicates comparison. It sounds like he has stalked or is stalking 1+ girls?. Is he “very impressed” because the others are too stupid/weak? This will be more of a challenge for him. With sociopaths & narcissists (if he’s one of those), it’s all about winning. Everything’s a game.

Fox is a predatory remark (hunting is a game). Or maybe he thinks she’s a “fox”, which means he’s a lot older than her. We know he finds her very attractive. Female foxes are called “vixens” btw.

Cologne… I think he might have sprayed it around, maybe on a bench or post, etc, &/or himself, so that she WOULD smell him. DID YOU NOTICE HOW HE SAID SHE “SCENTED THE AIR”, rather than “smelled the air”? Maybe I’m right in that he sprayed cologne on his surroundings for her to detect. He’s toying with her (so that he could refer to it in the letter). This gives him a thrill – cat & mouse, not scared rabbit. Cologne sounds dated, as if he’s older. “Girl”/”young lady” sounds like he’s older.

Online spy shops offer many devices to hear and see better. He could be an acquaintance or he overhears her talking regularly (co-worker, classmate). She could be a waitress at a place HE frequents. I can see him typing on his laptop, drinking coffee that she just made for him.

I cheated & looked for the area on a map. The trail is near a college. Maybe she’s a college student & walks dogs part-time. Maybe she walks HIS dog! He could be a T.A. & sees her in class, or works on campus, or nearby business. Or maybe he’s just misleading her & is a student.

“Sense” of security - minimizing her ability to protect herself. Of all the things he “knows”, the knife part is most important because he didn’t italicize “know” anywhere else. Could be sarcastic, belittling, arrogant, like “you can’t win”, “knowledge is power”

Or maybe stressing “know” is a way for him to convey that he’s finding out about her in other ways besides the park. Through her window? On campus? I do think he knows where she lives.

I noticed the girl/young lady & stop/cease change, And just the whole command of “stop” & “cease”. Those are orders, not a polite requests or suggestions.

He seems to be intelligent, formal, & clichéd in his writing (which makes him seem older). It could also come across that he thinks he’s better than her. He has to use clichés to mask that he has no feelings, no soul. Total manipulation.

“…I slipped up & almost came out…but thought better of it”. You can’t “almost” say hello & call it a slip up. “Almost” means it didn’t happen. Also, slipping up is unintentional, but to “think better of it” means a deliberate choice. “…&, frankly, it is no one elses business”. Is he subtly commanding her to keep quiet?

“I just wanted to tell you that I think you are very beautiful…”. But he didn’t say “just” that. He’s minimizing his real intention, which must be bad or he wouldn’t need to downplay it. He puts quotes around “creepy”, as if he’s been told that by someone before. He poses a serious threat, & I think he’s…

Male 37-48, maybe a little older. At least some college, maybe a degree. Blue collar to mid-mgmt. He’s a functional sociopath, maybe borderline pd. Fairly intelligent, controlling, arrogant, woman-hater, loner. Previously married. Maybe new to the area.

I think he has done something in the past w/o getting caught - stalking, rape, or murder. Has had issues w/ a negligent /controlling/abusive mother or never knew her. Might have abused animals as a child, or he just considers the dogs to be an obstacle & resents them for it.

It could be, however, that he’s male early 20s who has lived with grandparents most or all of his life. Same personality disorder(s) and background, but, at this ag, he’s still a beginner at this. Has probably abused animals.

Anonymous said...

This is a man 35 to 50.

This person is dangerous, he clearly is stalking her more than this letter indicates. With his comment The concealed knife I know you carry. The only way he would know that is to watch her conceal it previous to a walk. He chooses the forest trail because she goes there on a regular routine.

He is getting braver, to get close enough for her to smell his cologne.

Which brings me to the cologne, this is used to impress women, to smell good as an attractant. Which makes me think he is not shy at all, but wants her to think he is and that he isn't a threat. This would be a huge mistake on her behalf.

His comment about her bear spray and knife give her a sense of security, to me says he knows he is in full control and her sense of security is false.

I think this man is a tradesman but perhaps graduated High school.

This man is a thrill seeker, especially with the almost getting caught. The dog seeing him and her smelling his cologne.

I don't know why but I get the impression this is a bigger man that knows the knife and bear spray really aren't a threat to him, but the dogs are...

Dogs are like children they know if a person is good or bad..

I think the Man is almost sociopath, it would install fear into anyone finding a letter like this about them selves... She would I am sure be very scared on this trail if she still walks it. And that would please him.

I really hope she keeps her dogs with her at all times. Who knows what this person is capable of.

And I would guess Caucasian. Possibly from England/Britain. Because of the fox comment and a few of the words he chose that I have heard many times used by people from these areas.

Anonymous said...

Two parts, because apparently I talk too much!

So I'm new here and haven't read much on Statement Analysis or anything, so this is mostly just total guessing. And I know this is a fairly old post. But this one stuck with me all night so I wanted to say something! I get a little obsessive about trying to solve problems like these, as I'm sure many of you do too :P

I can see why people have started thinking maybe it was the "victim" herself who wrote the letter. But I'm not really convinced, for one main reason.

I was really struck when someone pointed out the use of British words and spelling. Because I didn't notice it at all. Because I'm English. It didn't stand out to me at all, it wasn't jarring in my head. My parents are 60-something years old and very English, so even some of the more archaic vocabulary didn't seem jarring to me, although it did strike me as an older person.

Which made me think. As I said, I haven't done any reading on this. I just sort of think, from my own experience, that people can't truly, completely change their vocabulary when they're pretending to be someone else. Because our internal vocabulary is so natural to us we don't even notice when we're using it/it's being used -- like how I didn't even notice the English spellings of things.

Some of the more noteworthy word usage, like "cease", seems a bit forced and could definitely be seen as someone trying to conceal their vocabulary/pretend to be someone they're not. But I think that might be for another reason, as I'll explain later.

But some of it, like spelling "smelled" as "smelt" is just a really natural, ingrained thing that people don't really think about. And as far as I know, Canadians and Americans aren't really aware of those little kinds of vocabulary differences. And even those who are... who would think to make that kind of change to their spelling when writing a letter? They'd have to be very, very clever.

Which leads me to believe it probably wasn't the "young lady" who wrote this herself, unless she's actually a 40-something Brit...

So onto who I think it could be.

Anonymous said...

Continued...

As has been covered, they seem to be from Britain. I think this difference in cultural language could also account for the more "female" um... vibe? that people were getting, from the pronoun use, etc. (Although it may well be a woman, I'm not at all clear on that point). I think they're somewhere between 40-60, and I'm more inclined to say at least somewhere in their 50s. Let me tell you why!

They obviously have a decent level of education because of the vocabulary they're using. However, it struck me that they talk very much like my mother. My mum is 60 and completed the English equivalent of High school, and she did Art in college. However, she didn't do a university degree, and certainly not in English or history. And yet she PRIDES herself on being all-knowing and speaking like a very intelligent person; because coming across as educated was very important in her family/to a lot of her generation (she's a baby boomer, they often struggled financially because of the number of children in the family). I think she's pretty insecure about her level of education and she kind of overcompensates. So she often uses complex language and looks down on those who don't. She uses more archaic language to try to prove to herself and everybody else that she is very intelligent. (And NEVER accuse her of not knowing something!)

I think that's why this person used the word "cease". They also seem very proud of just how much they know about dogs. They used "brindle". The whole letter is basically trying to show off how much they know and how intelligent they are. Also the fact that they talk about her like a fox -- fox hunting was very very big in Europe, and it was a particularly upperclass activity. The dogs that people would use to hunt were also a point of pride -- knowing the particular name for their colouring, like "brindle", would be important. However, I don't think this person is upperclass -- I think they're like my mother, trying to prove just how intelligent and worldly they are because they're insecure about it. That's why the use of "cease" may seem kind of pompous or forced.

Also, as someone else mentioned, "seen" is not only a southern thing, but also a British thing. BUT it's not an upperclass British thing -- you would not hear a classic Oxford- or Cambridge-educated person from that generation saying "seen" like that. So I think it came out naturally and they didn't even notice, because it's the other words that they're forcing out and using to change their vocabulary, whereas "seen" is their more natural vocabulary. Hence someone with decent education but not highest level, and not upperclass but trying to seem so.

However. I don't believe this person could have been SO close to her in the woods that the dog had its hackles raised and she could smell their cologne without seeing them. I mean, how thick are these woods?!? Woods don't usually have that much underbrush, especially not ones that have frequently used trails in them. Right? I don't know, certainly that's the case for all the woods I've been to, but maybe that's just my area...

Still, I don't believe the person would get that close without someone noticing. Basically the whole letter is just showing off -- they just want to freak her out and get attention (from her). I'm not really sure who it could be though.

Anonymous said...

Last bit!

One thing is that the "a" friend, whose dogs are of no importance to the letter writer, could be seen in two ways. 1. the most obvious: the fact that a stalker can be really obsessive and ignore/disapprove of and deliberately downplay other people other than their object of attention. But also 2. maybe it could be seen as minimizing? "a" friends instead of the previous "your" friend. Maybe it's the friend writing it? They could have sprayed the cologne to mess with her head. They'd know she had a "concealed knife".

If her friend is at-least-40-something and British... Which wouldn't really make sense for a "young lady" to be hanging around with... I don't know!

It is also very strange that she didn't seem bothered by it at all. One explanation could definitely be that she wrote it herself and isn't bothered because it already had its intended effect (getting attention from someone in particular, I think). Or maybe... was the friend's dog also a pitbull? Maybe they accidentally approached the friend instead, and she downplayed it so it wouldn't get more media attention (just the attention of the woman)? :P I really have no clue

But please please please share the real findings/identity!! It's going to bother me forever :P

this is fun but not for her said...

Male, mid-late 40's, not first time he has hunted a female, is dangerous, if he has a job it has flexible hours or she is very regular about walking her dogs. He has obsessively watched her. She is aware of this. Why didn't ge follow her out of the park? I think he did. She is keenly aware of cologne scent and has threatening, imposing 'large' dogs. Pit Bull terriers is awkward, most people just say pit bulls. He wants her to absorb the level of detailed awareness he's given her. I bet he's stalked her elsewhere. However, she carries a knife, walks with a friend, has several pitbulls, why? This hints to me she's been victimized before. I don't think this man has a high paying job. I would have thought indigent or transient, but he wears cologne. He has to be wearing clothes that would disguise his location.
He wants to terrorize her, he is bathing in cologne, enough to be smelled but not enough to be seen. He refers to hunting, especially with inagery of fox. Leaving a note is cinematic, as if anyone would stop reading it. He's just alerted everyone that a very noticeable woman has a stalker. He has no fear of being caught. He doesnt want to meet her, he wants to scare her, he wants to unnerve her so she will be suspicious of everyone. Why would she be suspicious of smelling cologne in a park? Is she off the beaten path? So many orecautions to walk in a possibly threatening and remote area. Seems like overkill, no irony intended.
So, low wage job, peeping tom ir stalker, escalating, no formal education but innately intelligent, intelligence of the shrewd criminal type, escalating behavior, no altruistic intentions. Late 30's at youngest.
Or some dumbass writing a screenplay.

this is fun but not for her said...

I do not think this person is British or formally educated. I think he is trying to sound that way, and Britush speak is so popular among Americans now, 'whilst' 'one off', etc., pretentious affectstions. I think this man is well read, perhaps loves Dashiell Hammet and ither British writers, pulp/noir fan, fan of movies like Silence of the Lambs, affected speech, to make his presence seem even more alien and ominous, more of the menacing idea of a stranger. He's full of shit.